Into the Dark
by Kerichi
Summary: On the brink of becoming a Death Eater, Severus finds that in the blackest of rooms, someone will hold him and say, 'I'll follow you into the dark.' [This one shot story follows the MWPP era fics More Than a Feeling and The Potions Master's Apprentice.]


Special Note: I did my best to give this story 'legs' to stand alone, even if readers have never heard of **More Than a Feeling **or **The Potions Master's Apprentice**- the story and sequel this fic follows. Of course, if a new reader is consumed with the urge to read the other stories after reading this one, I'll be green with happiness, because aren't all writers a bit Slytherin, using any means to achieve their ends?

* * *

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Into the Dark

-

The werewolf was lying.

Severus did not need to employ one of the potions he had brought with him to discover the truth. He easily obtained it through Bledri Fawr's defiant stare, glittering black in the firelight. Legilimency brought images to mind that proclaimed guilt more damningly than written confession.

"Well?" His superior asked impatiently. Lucius Malfoy made no secret of loathing every moment spent in the cold, uncivilised backcountry. He had informed Severus before they left London that the sooner the mission was completed, the more pleased he would be.

Severus had grown to appreciate the isolated hills and valleys of Northern Wales during his apprenticeship with Mordred Ap Meurig, but he also felt no urge to linger. That part of his life was over. He said, "Fawr killed the girl, as her father accused."

"_Bastard __brudwyr!"_

Severus lifted a brow. Wizard, he was. Bastard, he was not, unfortunately. He would have far preferred the name Prince to Snape.

One of the three Death Eaters pointing their wands at the bound man dug his wand into the brawny Welshman's throat. "Shut your mouth, _wyneb cach!_"

Trust Tom to learn insults in every language, Severus thought with detached amusement. Although far from handsome, Fawr's face hardly resembled excrement. The man's actions, however, were foul. Severus said, "He brought the girl to this cottage and killed her when she did not return his ardour. The body lies under the stones beneath Fawr's bed."

"_Ti'n llawn cachu!" _the werewolf shouted.

"Full of shite, is he? We'll see about that," Tom promised grimly.

Lucius said, "Yes, we will." He told Travers and Higgs, "Move the bed."

They hastened to do their leader's bidding. Within moments, the pair returned from the back room. All of a sudden, the prisoner willingly spoke English. "It was an accident!" he said. "She fell against the hearth!"

"You snapped her neck," Severus countered.

"_Ladda 'ch Sais!" the man screamed, reverting to Welsh._

"Silencio!"

All eyes turned to Lucius. "What a horrible language," he said. "I refuse to listen to another word of grating gibberish." He pointed to Travers. "Go, bring the girl's father." Higgs was told, "You. Clean a chair."

Tom Wilkes stood next to his former Hogwarts roommate and asked quietly, "What did he say?"

_I will kill you, Englishman_, if Severus translated correctly. He shrugged. "Nothing of consequence."

On the other side of the room, the head of Voldemort's spy network curled a lip as he surveyed the dim squalor of the cottage. "This place is a hovel. No- a sty, fit for an animal," he said. Lucius sat on the cleaned chair and smirked at the prisoner. "Appropriate for a werewolf, I suppose."

Fawr twisted uselessly against his magical bonds. Severus concealed a grim satisfaction over the man's futile rage. Werewolves were used to instilling fear. It was ironic that one now had cause to feel it.

"I need a drink," Lucius announced after a few moments' silence.

"I would procure one, but Fawr likely guzzles from the bottle," Severus said with a hint of a sneer.

Tom chuckled and withdrew a flask from his robes. "I've not had a drink tonight, and my whiskey's Scots, not Welsh gnat's piss."

Severus did not dispute the opinion, although he did not agree with the judgment of Welsh Whisky. He stood in silence while Lucius accepted the flask offered and took a sip. "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link," he said contemplatively. "This incident might very well break off our Welsh support if it is not handled correctly." Pale features hardened. "What do you suggest, Higgs?"

"Treat him like a wolf that's killed a lamb. Slit him open and let his intestines fall onto the floor," the stocky older wizard advised.

"Wilkes?" Lucius asked.

The wiry Yorkshire man said, "_Crucio_, until he can no longer scream, and then slit him open."

Lucius smiled faintly. "My sister-in-law would approve." His gaze turned to Severus. "Snape?"

"Councillor Trewent is an invaluable source of funds and information. His eldest daughter has been slain by a man who claimed to serve his master…let him decide the murderer's fate."

A knock on the door brought Lucius to his feet and the three other men to stand, wands at the ready, around the prisoner. "Enter," Lucius called.

Trewent and two other Welshmen accompanied Travers into the cottage. "Go get Siân," the father whispered roughly. The two men went into the bedroom and came out carrying a body wrapped in a sheet. "Take her home," ordered Trewent, his face creased with pain.

"Lord Voldemort has decreed you shall cast judgment on Fawr," Lucius announced.

The councillor's expression was a mix of relief and anguish. "I want him dead."

"Say the word and I will make him suffer _Crucio _first," said Tom.

"I will be the one to make him suffer," Trewent said, raising his wand.

Severus stepped forward. "Do not use an Unforgivable."

"_Snape?_" Lucius' tone implied '_why are you interfering?'_

"You cannot serve our Lord in Azkaban. Aurors will surely investigate this werewolf's disappearance, and any _Maleficus _variation of _Prior Incantato _will reveal your wand's criminal spell. Think of your responsibilities," Severus said, 'seeing' the man's grieving family flash into his mind.

"You…you helped me before…against that other werewolf," Trewent said, referring to the day Severus, accompanied by Fenrir Greyback, visited to recruit him to serve Voldemort.

Severus had obliquely warned the man not to allow his children out on a full moon. He had done it out of self-interest, to earn gratitude and loyalty.

Trewent obviously believed it prompted by altruism, pleading, "Make Fawr suffer."

The councillor was asking for help. It cost Severus nothing to give it. "_Dolore adficere_ will inflict pain without being Unforgivable. The stronger you cast the spell, the more he will suffer."

"_Diolch…Diolch yn Fawr," _Trewent said, before shouting the spell.

You are welcome, Severus thought, watching the captive writhe in pain.

"Do you want to hear him scream, Councillor?" Lucius asked.

Trewent said, "Yes. In my mind, I hear Siân's cries. I want the sound of Fawr's screams to drown them."

"Her neck was broken. She did not experience pain," said Severus.

"Then his pain will match mine."

It took a half hour for the werewolf to lose his voice. "Kill him," Trewent said dully. "I will wait outside. When you are done, I will burn this place to the ground."

"Shall I slice him open, Sir?" Higgs offered, when the Welshman left.

Lucius said, "No. I believe Snape should carry out the sentence." He looked at Severus and smiled. "Our Lord desires to bestow the highest honour upon you…after a demonstration of your ultimate loyalty."

Severus swayed on his feet, rendered light-headed by the offer. To become a Death Eater, one of the inner circle, privy to the Dark Lord's counsel, attaining prestige and power. He had dreamt of this moment for years.

Lucius enjoyed rendering him speechless. He chuckled. "I have no wish to clean entrails off my robes. We will wait outside as well."

Higgs and Travers silently trailed after their leader, but Tom clapped his friend on the shoulder and grinned. "I prefer a simple killing curse, but feel free to execute the _Ffwl_ any way you like. Do it quickly, though. It's snowing outside!"

Left alone with the prisoner, Severus reached into his robes and brought out a vial. "Wilkes named you a fool. You lived like one, but you do not have to die foolishly. Drink this, and you will never feel pain."

Bledri Fawr's life literally flashed before his eyes. Severus looked away. He did not care to witness it. When he put the vial to the werewolf's lips, the man hesitated, and then opened his mouth, tears streaking down his face.

Seconds after Fawr swallowed the poison, he died. Severus watched the man's chest rise and then fall, never to rise again. He did not feel regret. He had disengaged from vulnerable emotions and memories before the mission, shielded them behind a barrier in his mind. There was only a faint curiosity to gauge the success of his spell when Severus lifted his wand. "_Sectumsempra!" _

As though an invisible sword sliced through bonds, along with flesh and bone, the body slashed apart. Severus stepped back, away from the stench and gore. The spell he had invented in school exceeded his expectations.

He walked out into the night, leaving the door open for the girl's father to see the corpse. Trewent took one long look before hurling a fireball to set the cottage ablaze.

-

Severus returned home cold and weary. He scowled when one of the illumination orbs lighting the stairway in his building flickered out. His status as Potions Master had not brought the wealth or acclaim once hoped. Anyone who trained with an apothecary could do his work at _Dante's_, and the pay was commensurate. If the Dark Lord did not require his services to provide potions, Severus would have found another position- and better flat- months ago.

"_Lumos_," he snapped, using his wand to light the narrow stairs. When he reached his front door, Severus completed the routine he followed every time he returned from a mission. He checked the post.

The building manager received the owl post and distributed it to each tenant's box beside his or her front door. Severus discharged the wards on his box and lifted out an envelope, his eyes falling on the words that activated the release of feelings and memories.

_Severus Snape, Potions Master _was the trigger that pulled down mental barriers and integrated aspects of his personality compartmentalised for protection. A different, verbal cue was instantly effective, but uses of the written prompt ensured he would be 'himself' before entering the home he shared with his partner.

He 'drew' runes upon the faded paint of the door. They glowed green and dissipated as Severus turned the handle.

Inside the flat, his eyes instinctively searched for traces of his companion's presence. A black throw over the arm of a chair…a book tucked between sofa cushions…a sprig of holly on the mantel. Each small item reassured Severus that he was not alone.

He hung up his cloak and walked through the lounge into the bedroom, unbuttoning his shirt on the way. On the bed, a Siamese lifted her head. In the soft glow of a night orb, her eyes had a reddish shine. Severus sat on the edge of the bed and began removing his shoes and socks, pausing to pet his companion's downy soft fur.

The cat butted its nose against his hand before backing away. Severus watched his partner shift from Animagus to human form, smiling slightly at the resemblance between female and feline. Both had pale, sleek bodies, blue eyes, and brown 'points.' Something inside relaxed when she said the words that reaffirmed who he was, "Severus, my love."

Her arms wrapped around him tight, holding him close to the warmth he longed to sink into. "I am fine, _cariad_," he said, using the Welsh for darling.

"You smell like smoke," she whispered.

"I watched a murderer's house burn to the ground tonight," Severus said, answering the question in her eyes. "He wasn't burnt alive. I offered poison, and he took it."

He gave no more details, and she asked for none. Eris had turned her back on the Greyback family, and the arranged marriage they planned for her, out of love for him- not Voldemort. She cared only that her lover was safe.

"I need a shower," he said, kissing her softly. Methodically placing his clothing and shoes away, he walked into the lavatory and engaged a water charm.

"I'll wash your back," said Eris, stepping into the spray behind him.

Severus closed his eyes as her hands soaped his skin. Eris' touch cleansed inside and out, washing away the smoky odour and the memory of a bereaved father thanking him repeatedly for carrying out 'justice.'

Her caresses evoked a need that was savage in intensity. He turned and pressed her back against the tiles, kissing her fiercely before asking, "Here?"

She kissed him in answer.

-

Later, in the darkness of their bedroom, he listened to the beating of her heart and said, "Will you stay with me after I receive the Dark Mark?"

Her fingers left his hair to stroke his cheek. "The book on the sofa is charmed. It looks like Herbology, but is actually Shakespeare's sonnets." Eris paused a moment and then said, "_Love is not love which alters, when it alteration finds…" _The breath she released was shaky, but her voice was unwavering when she added, "_O no! It is an ever fixed mark- that looks on tempests and is never shaken…"_

Shame tightened his throat. It was cowardly to tell Eris the news in that manner, in the dark, but if there was pain in her eyes, he could not bear to see it. He kissed his way up her body until he reached her lips. Between deepening kisses, Severus whispered the words learnt in a castle in Wales.

_Rwy'n dy garu di! I love you!_

_-_

When morning sunlight slid between the curtains to cast an impudent ray across his face, Severus closed his eyes against the light and muttered an imprecation. Beside him, Eris laughed softly. "Good morning, love."

He grumbled, "What is so good about it?"

"You're lying here with me."

The corners of his mouth twitched. "It would be better if you were lying atop me."

Silky hair brushed his face as Eris draped herself over him. "Like this?"

He opened his eyes. "I meant _under _the covers."

She shook her head. "I want you to wake up, and if I do that, you'll be asleep again in fifteen minutes."

Severus pursed his lips to conceal amusement. "Thirty minutes, at a minimum."

Eris leaned down and kissed him. "Tempting, but I want you to see my invention first."

He watched her climb off the bed, a smile curving his lips. "Put on clothing if you wish me to look at anything but you."

She slipped on his robe and crossed over to the dresser, waving her hand at a mahogany container placed on top.

Severus sat up. "You invented the box…right after the wheel, I suppose?" he said with a smirk.

"This isn't just any old box," Eris scolded laughingly; "This is a _Christmas_ box."

The moment she lifted the lid, a small tree, complete with ornaments and candles, rose up and spread its branches. Severus gazed at the angel on top and said, "You made her brunette."

"Why should blondes have all the fun?"

He returned her smile. "Indeed."

Eris brought the lid up, activating a spell and sending the tree collapsing into the box once more. She replaced the top and patted the wood. "Do you like it?"

"What inspired this feat of Transfiguration?"

She returned to sit beside him on the bed. "Necessity…I wanted a Christmas tree we can bring with us to your mother's, but I didn't want anyone to see it and wonder…"

"Why Scrooge has a tree celebrating goodwill among men he despises?"

"Something like that."

"I am deeply impressed," Severus said.

She walked to the side of the bed. "Enough to show it in actions as well as words?"

Severus threw off the covers and tugged Eris on top of him.

"Indeed," he said silkily.

-

The sound of the door ward chiming jolted him out of a satisfied slumber. Eris ran into the bedroom, chewing rapidly as she took off his robe and threw it to him.

"What are you eating?" Severus asked curiously. He sniffed the air and got his answer. "Bacon, hmm?"

"I just finished conjuring breakfast," she said. "I didn't set the table, and there's only one mug of coffee on the counter, so…" the sound of the ward chiming again caused Eris to break off and shift into her Animagus form.

"Everything will be fine," he said, tying the belt of the robe. Severus walked to the door and said, "Who is there?"

"It's Tom, open up!"

Tom Wilkes entered the flat with a grin on his face. "Just in time for breakfast, I smell." He strolled into the kitchen and took a mug off an open shelf, fixing a cup of coffee and eyeing the platter of food hungrily. "Hello, kitty," he said, bending to pet the cat.

"Claire not feed you this morning?" Severus asked, taking down three plates and apportioning the fried tomatoes, sausages, eggs, and bacon.

Tom stood, watching Severus set a plate down on the floor for the cat, shaking his head. "I didn't go to her place last night. Even if I had, she can't conjure toast without burning it."

There was a rack of toast beneath a stasis cover on the small dining table. Severus handed his guest a plate and set his own down, taking off the cover while saying, "Learn to make your own, then."

Tom laughed and picked a fork and knife up off the tabletop. "Where's your Christmas spirit, Ebenezer Snape?"

"In the drinks cabinet," Severus responded, beginning to eat.

"Ha!" said Tom, chomping on bacon. Halfway through the meal, he wiped his hands on a serviette and withdrew an envelope from his robe pocket. "Here…something to put you in the holiday mood."

Severus' heart pounded. It was an invitation to the Malfoy Christmas Eve Feast at their home in Wiltshire. He tried to speak calmly, "Will the Dark Lord be there?"

Tom lifted his mug in salute. "Seems fitting, doesn't it? You became a Knight of Walpurgis at Greyback's Feast. Now, two years later, you become an Eater of Death at Malfoy's." He pulled down his sleeve to show the skull that marked his flesh. "Are you ready?"

Severus quelled the urge to shout and calmly answered, "Yes."

-

"Thank you for taking me shopping," Eris said later, when they walked down Diagon Alley. A combination of Disillusionment Charm and rapidly darkening twilight kept her presence behind him hidden from those around them.

Severus halted in front of a greenery-bedecked shop window and pretended to examine the goods on display. "A Christmas Dinner of our own is the least I can give you."

He felt her body lean into his back, her arms encircling him in a hug. "You give me your love, and that is all I need. I won't follow _him_, but I'll follow you, down any path you choose to take."

"Thank you," he said gruffly, before moving toward the shop entrance.

Wizards and witches buying supplies for holiday meals filled McGregor's Market. Severus picked up a basket and began to shop, following Eris' whispered directives. He had just picked out a small duck when a voice said, "Hello, Snape."

Severus looked up. "Potter," he returned civilly. His eyes went past his old enemy's shoulder to see the man's wife and friend approaching. Lily appeared wan, and Black seemed a different man, without a cocky smile on his face. Prodded by the nudge to his arm, Severus muttered, "My condolences on your recent losses."

"My parents lived long, happy lives."

Severus, uncomfortable, inclined his head in polite acknowlegement and made to walk on. He turned at the sound of a startled intake of breath. Potter was staring down at his hand, outstretched in mid air.

Eris had taken the man's hand in compassion. "Happy Christmas, James," she whispered.

"Happy Christmas," Potter said.

Severus walked away, smirking to hear Sirius Black demand, _"Did you just wish Snape 'Happy Christmas'?" _

The angry disbelief in Black's tone made Severus' mood more merry and bright.

-

On Christmas Eve, Severus stood in the attic bedroom of his childhood home, running his fingers across the smooth surface of Eris' Christmas box. He placed it on the desk and said, "Did Mother seem…tired…to you?"

"No more than any mum who stayed up late preparing for her son's visit," Eris said. She took his hand and squeezed his fingers gently. "James' parents were twice Eileen's age." She smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be a clever cat and purr her to sleep after you go."

He brought her hand to his lips. "I must leave soon."

"Are you ready?" she asked, "Are you prepared?" Her eyes glittered with unshed tears.

He nodded. Unable to express the tumult of emotions he felt, Severus drew Eris into his arms and kissed her passionately. They clung tightly to each other. Before he stepped away, he pressed a tender kiss to her lips. "I do not know when I shall return."

Her smile was loving and resolute. "I'll be waiting."

-

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A/N: I took the title from song by Death Cab for Cutie- _I Will Follow You into the Dark._ I don't personally agree with the philosophy, but I love the sound, appreciate the sentiment and like the thought of Eris being willing to stand beside Severus as he embarks upon his new journey, saying 'I'll follow you into the dark.' I borrowed the 'Are you ready, are you prepared' from Dumbledore in PoA, and the sonnet Eris quoted (116- thanks BrierRose17!) strangely reminded me of part of Psalm 23: _I will fear no evil, for you are with me…_


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